Soon after the surprise party, I headed to Kyoto and North of Kyoto to the “Tango” (love that name, because I love the dance too) area of Kyoto Prefecture. I met some of the most generous folks ever, all coincidental or not? and as a bonus, I arranged to meet the Tanaka family, who make some of the most scrumptious, Tango Washi (now stocked at Paper Connection!)
Another fruitful planned event was participating as a vendor at the annual Southern Graphics Council Conference (SGC), this year held in Chicago.
It turned out this was the IDEAL city to be in for SGC, even in a down economy. It was the highest attended show in the history of SGC- 1600 people! This conference is always so informative, especially this year, where we received so much great feedback about our papers. Who knew Paper Connection’s world-class line of handmade, sumi paper is great for etching!?! Our exclusive Kumohada Unryu papers, originally used as wallcovering, are now a favorite for intaglio… Many thanks to Steve Woodall at the Columbia College for Book and Paper Arts, as they helped us host our Chicago soiree in honor of Aiko’s and paper lovers everywhere. The space was just right, and the opportunity to meet some our new (and previous) clientele from Chicago was priceless.
Most recently (May ’09) we returned from the NAMTA (National Art Materials Association) Show, this year held in Louisville, KY. The people of Louisville, or as they say it, “Looahvul,” showed us their true Southern hospitality.
The show reception was held at the Kentucky Derby Museum, where we could happily reunite with old friends, who we may only see once or twice a year. Most importantly, we learned what makes a thoroughbred. Man! That Mind That Bird really had amazing timing – record-breaking in fact.
Most recently (May ’09) we returned from the NAMTA (National Art Materials Association) Show, this year held in Louisville, KY. The people of Louisville, or as they say it, “Looahvul,” showed us their true Southern hospitality.
The show reception was held at the Kentucky Derby Museum, where we could happily reunite with old friends, who we may only see once or twice a year. Most importantly, we learned what makes a thoroughbred. Man! That Mind That Bird really had amazing timing – record-breaking in fact.
Los Angeles, Tokyo, Kyoto, Barcelona, Toulouse, Louisville, and Providence. Some of the many places Paper Connection has been just in the past 5 months. It’s not necessarily glamorous, but rather compelling when we meet the individuals there who feed off our resolve. We feed off theirs too. I took advantage of opportunities to meet and see many interesting people and places; the importance of face to face meetings well outweighed the monthly blogging about it. All of these meetings were at the right place, at the right time, yet mostly unscheduled. All lead to unforgettable conversations and friendships; human to human connections through the common language of paper. It always seems to start and ends with paper, probably because I unconsciously craft the time that way…. Stay in the paper zone.
